When I think "2012"

My life never seems that interesting, and honestly, it never really seems like anything that dramatic happens. However, my life is honestly a major adventure, and it's because of Jesus Christ. Seriously, a life of meaning and purpose sort of makes the whole "living" thing fun and exciting. People think Christianity is boring and "unfun," but honestly, nothing I do would have any sort of meaning without Jesus Christ. Think about it, we are constantly on a mission, living for Christ with a passion of reaching others for Him. That's pretty legit if you ask me.
So as I look back onto the year, I thank God for the things He has taught me, the places He has brought me and the people He has blessed me with.
I think about where I started in 2012, where I have gone and where I've been going. I think about what may happen in 2013-- who I may meet, what I may experience, how I may change, what I may learn-- and I thank God for a year that has changed me.
I believe that while God is constant and unchanging, we as human beings are made to change, to grow and to develop, and I thank God that development has taken place in my life this year.
It's important to remember where we've been and who we were so that we can get where we're going and become who we're supposed to be. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Basically, when I think "2012," I think,
"Oh hey, that year that I tried all sorts of weird and crazy things that I never thought I would ever try, let alone do and complete.
Oh hey, that year that God stretched me, and it hurt a lot because stretching is used as a technique of torture sometimes... but God wasn't torturing me, He was just molding me.
Oh hey, that year that I'm glad is over but am glad it happened.
Oh hey, that was 2012."

This year...
I led a small group of girls in Bible study (sophomore year), and God taught me how to study His Word in a way that I can teach it to others, how to pursue relationships that are hard to pursue, how to love people who are hard to love and how to love God more than people.
I learned what it's like to be called by God and to just do what He's asking without any ifs, ands or buts.
I saw God provide without any hesitation, and I realized what it means to have faith that God will come through.
God dragged me through dry spells to help me appreciate the rain and growth.

 

teaching
I tutored in a subject that was not my forte, learned to explain things in a way I never had before, had fun times with my student, grew confident in teaching and saw God blooming within me a love for teaching and making people realize their own intelligence.

adventure
I got to experience Boston during our nation's Independence Day-- taste the canolis of the North End, smell the ocean and the musky, city air, see the tall ships floating in the harbor, hear the Boston Pops and crowds of people and touch the soft grass of the Boston Commons.
I got to watch the fireworks above my hometown with the people I love, remembering the freedom of our country and being thankful to those who fight for it.

missions
I traveled to Lebanon on almost a whim, shared the gospel, learned about my family's culture, got to know incredible people, spent an amazing month with Teta (my grandmother), was pushed out of my comfort zone, experienced intense heat, tasted delicious food, spoke in depth with people very different than me, ministered to the most random people and saw God open my heart to His will.

leadership
I was pulled up to a leadership position I didn't expect to be in, spent less time at home than I had hoped, left earlier to school than I had anticipated and began my junior year of college in a way I never imagined.
God allowed me to minister to the girls on the hall that He placed in my life, taught me to love people I never expected to love, humbled me through difficult circumstances and melted my heart from pride, forced me to say things I never wanted to say, silenced me when it was not time to speak, stretched me to do hard things and loved me when no one else did.

friendship
I built friendships I will cherish forever, and God taught me to never question His will. I went on adventures with said friends, relaxed with them, worked hard with them, enjoyed life with them, shared hard times with them, grew with them, just talked with them, learned how to be a friend to them and finally was blessed to know what real friendship looks like by their actions.
I grew in past friendships, resolved past issues, grew apart from past friendships, made new friends, thanked God for old ones, learned how to be a friend to people I would not normally choose to be friends with, experienced people being my friend when I didn't deserve it.

Made life long memories with people who I hope will be in my life forever.

family

I saw my sister grow in her pregnancy, learned what it means to love someone you don't know, grew in anticipation for her child, got to spend a great amount of time with family over the holidays, and just APPRECIATED home.

God taught me what it means to love Him more than anything, how to love people, what love really means, more about who He is, the importance of prayer, the beauty of the Bible, the importance of friendship, the difference of a kind word, the meaning of trusting in Him, how to give up control, how to let go of anxiety, Who is in control, Where to turn for guidance, that my family is a blessing, that people will fail me, that life is unfair, that everybody is beautiful, that GOD IS GOOD.

Coldplay to Glorify God?

As a Christian, is it a sin to listen to non-Christian music or Christian music that is "emotional" and not "coming right from Bible verses?" Is it a sin to watch non-Christian movies or enjoy culture if it isn't meant to praise God?

I'm just going to go ahead and nip this in the butt..... NO.
This whole mentality is, quite frankly, ridiculous. How the idea that creativity is sin is beyond me.

Now, if said music/movie/art is a stumbling block in your personal walk with God or is blaspheming/dishonoring God, then yes, it is a sin.

However, I find that many Christians who point their fingers and shout "If it has a beat and isn't hymns or choruses, then you are not walking with God!" in their mommy voice are simply just harboring a Pharisee mentality and not Biblically backing up their arguments. At all.

Sorry if that's harsh, but not sorry.

Now, let me start off by saying that just because it's not blatantly "Christian," doesn't mean that God doesn't use it nor does it mean He can't be glorified by it.

My English professor this semester made a beautiful point in class.
People often gawk at the fact that we in a Christian university read, learn and study works of literature that are not written by Christians, do not present Christian messages and often display ungodly ideals and mentalities. So why do we study them?
What he said truly inspired me. "Just because it isn't a Christian work with Christian morals, doesn't mean we can't see pieces of God through man's creativity. Just because there may be mentalities we don't agree with in them, doesn't mean that we can't learn more about God and man from them."

Obviously he is not saying to fill our minds with horrible things or dark worldviews that will corrupt our minds. The Bible says to think on GOOD things.
Here's what he WAS saying: Often times, art (any form) is not created to point to God, but yet it still does. Man is God's creation, and though man may be far from God, man still has within his or her inner being, the knowledge and recognition of their Creator. Therefore, man's insight (whether Christian or not) does, in a way, teach us about our Lord and Creator and also teaches us about the nature of man in comparison to His GLORY.

Example:
Coldplay. Non-Christian band. Secular worldviews presented through their lyrics.
However, through their music and lyrics, I often see their longing for God, man's need for the Lord and their desperation for meaning in life, encouraging me to reach the lost for God. Through their music and lyrics I also can see a beauty of creation, an appreciation for obscure beauty and glimpses of nature, helping me to further understand my Maker and his beauty in creating music, life, human beings and just this world. Such music, though not written to glorify God, brings out in my heart and mind a sort of appreciation for God and his obscure characteristics that DOES bring Him glory.

This is an example of how contemporary culture can point people to Jesus unknowingly.

With that said, maybe it doesn't work like that for everyone. Maybe not everyone is a right-brained nut who sees God's beauty and majesty through tearful tunes and deep, poetic anecdotes, and that is ok. But for people to call those people ignorant who DO find beauty and appreciation of the Lord through those things, THAT is not right and not their place to judge or condemn.

Romans 14 blatantly speaks against judging others based on what they celebrate, how they eat, how they go about certain things...

Obviously, this is NOT in reference to an overt sin. Anything that directly goes against God's Word SHOULD be judged, especially among Christian brethren, because THAT is Biblical, and God is the ultimate judge
. 
But, condemning others for certain preferences in what type of culture they partake in is absolutely UNBIBLICAL and arrogant.

Sorry if I stepped on toes, but ya know... welcome to the blog of Daisy Wolf. 

Every engagement needs MARMALADE

So, I've blogged about awkward couples, but what about the non-awkward couples?
Don't they deserve a blog post? I say yes, yes they do.

However, this post is specifically directed towards ENGAGED couples. Oh yes. Don't think you'd get out that easily. ENGAGED. Not dating, but not married. An odd spot in life, but apparently a very popular one since 90% of my Facebook friends lie in this category.

(Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any skewed statistics; I am simply bad at math. Hence the journalism major).

So, to the 90%, the 10% have something to say. Don't worry, this is not a criticizing post-- mostly just an inquiring post. So in this case, I suppose we don't have something to say, but rather to ask....

HOW ARE THERE SO MANY OF YOU?
Really though. It seems that some sort of epidemic has taken over all social media
and the symptoms involve 

1. diamonds
2. cover photo close-ups involving such diamonds
3. and maybe a picnic basket. 

YES, the picnic basket is a symptom, and it's filled with roses and jars of marmalade and maybe some lemonade in a jug. Oh, and maybe some bread because you need something to put the marmalade on.

The question is, do you find the diamond ring in the picnic basket and then realize you've caught the engagement or do you just see the picnic basket and know? OR is the trick ACTUALLY just in the marmalade? I mean, that's an important factor. Who can get married without marmalade? ONLY NO ONE.

Also, does Kay jewelers pay you for advertising your engagement on social networking sites? I mean, it doesn't really bother the rest of us, but I hope you are getting reimbursed for such a romantically dramatized expression on the world wide web. It would only be fair.
Is there glitter involved? In the proposal? Or buckets of confetti? Why has no one proposed via lite-brite?

I don't know about you, but I feel as though that would be a creative (and vintage) way to pop the question. Like "WILL YOU MARRY ME?" in this:

...There wouldn't have to be Mr. Potato Head there, but ya know. If there was some sort of significance about having the potato in the proposal, then by all means.... Mr. Potato away.

Anyway. Those are mostly my questions for you.
Please continue on, since you are probably busy smothering your bread with marmalade.

Another disclaimer: none of this is meant to be offensive. I'm sorry if your feelings are hurt because you really just love marmalade and Mr. Potato Head, and I will try to be more sensitive next time.



Keep being cute, engaged people! With all of your cover photos and picnic baskets!

And now for a short message to all the teens in the house...

So I've been thinking about the teenaged years. "Why would you relive such horrid times?" you may be wondering. Well, you know, even though high school was not my most treasured time in life, I must admit that I had some incredible experiences in high school. And by incredible, I mean, horrible to go through but extremely life-changing and necessary.

So, as I ponder the not-so-distant years of being a teen, I just remember how HARD it is to be one. We give high-schoolers WAY less credit than they deserve.

Seriously though.

Middle school/ High school = Finding out who you are + people telling you who to be + you trying to be who they want you to be + horrible math classes + very little freedom + thinking about the future and eventual adulthood + dramatic peers + crazy emotions and hormones + discovering how intense your emotions can be + figuring out how to balance your emotions with logic + not quite being an adult but becoming one.

I mean, COME ON. Not even Bill Gates wants to solve that equation.

My heart goes out to middle-schoolers and high-schoolers. So much vulnerability, so much willingness to be molded, but so many voices calling out to them, telling them what to be.

Well, to all my friends in this age range, you are respected, admired and felt with. The years may never seem to end, and it may seem you never will make it out alive but hey- I'm still breathing.

I've only been out of high school for 3 years and out of teenhood for 2, but those years weighed so heavy, that leaving them behind meant REALLY leaving them behind and never looking back. But, once you're out, you're out. And you feel like a superhero because you made it through years of dramatic, emotional individuals who spur on crazy drama and emotions out of you that you didn't know existed.
(Spoiler: They always existed. Everyone else seems to be the problem, but you want the reality? You're the problem. We all are. Sin is. This feeling is never really something anyone actually grows out of. Everything is always "someone else's problem.")

Anyway, don't ever let older people make you feel like your life is easy, because it's not. Every stage of life is messy, and the teenaged years happen to be the messy part of life in which you don't actually know who you are (which makes it all the more confusing). You truly are a superhero. Keep pushing through!

Ask God for wisdom, trust Him always, love Him more than anything or anyone, and never look to a human being to satisfy you. Seek guidance from those who are willing to help you, especially ones who have been where you've been before, but stay away from advice that will turn you away from Jesus. He is your priority, and the only way to make it through the brutality of teenhood is through His GRACE.

That is all =).

Home is Wherever I'm With You

The high I get from coming home never really gets old. There's nothing really like it-- that feeling of anticipation as you travel home, eagerly awaiting the people who have seen you grow up, the town that has been the stage of your childhood and the houses that hold dear memories.

It's not that I dislike school or hate being away from home. Actually, I really like school (when it's not stressing me out), and traveling and trying new things is exciting for me. However, no matter where I go, who I meet or what new things I experience, I still resolve that there really is no place like home. Other than the U.S., I've been to (officially) five countries, and within the U.S. I've been to pretty much all of the East Coast states and 3-4 states in the midwest. I would say I've been to a variety of places in my short life (which I'm thankful for and LOVE), but the best lesson I learned from these trips is that home is wherever the people you love are. I honestly could live anywhere, in any country, in any climate, in any culture (for the most part), as long as my loved ones were with me. It's the people that make the place. I loved all those places I visited, but they were missing one thing- the PEOPLE who meant the most to me.

With that said, I absolutely love my friends at school, and they definitely had made my college experience incredible. When I'm home, I miss them so much. Honestly, they're my family away from my family. They make college another home.

I won't lie though- there's something special about the people who have known you as long as you've known yourself. Isn't that an interesting thought?
Now for the official mind-boggler:
God knew you and me before we knew ourselves.
Is your mind blown yet? If not, just wait.
He didn't just know us, He planned us.
That's right. PLANNED. As in, we have a purpose. We were created for a specific intent. We have worth. We were planned.

It's one thing for me to think about my parents knowing me since my first entrance into the world, but it's another thing to realize that God formed me before my mother even knew she was pregnant with me. Even before that, he knew that my parents would get married, and I would be the product of their union. Before that, he knew that my grandparents would have my parents. And it goes on and on and on.

God knew us before anyone did. He knew us before we knew ourselves. He knows us more than anyone still. He knows us more than we know ourselves.
He sees every inner thought, feeling, desire, wish and dream within us, whether pure or impure, and He still LOVES us.

That, my friends, is incredible.

All that to say, while it's amazing to be home with people who know and love me, it's even better to know that no matter where I am or who I'm with, God is always with me and knows me better than anyone. He never misunderstands me and never gives up on me.

So in a way, everywhere is home because God is with me no matter where I go.
GOD is home.
What a GOD I serve. So thankful.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros sing a song called "Home is Wherever I'm With You," which is a very valid and creative phrase. In their song, however they state that even Jesus Christ isn't home compared to their "loved one." When I first heard it, I sort of gasped in shock. You know, that self-righteous "Oh dear, I can't believe someone just said that out loud," gasp. After thinking about it though, I think that's often what I do. I love my family so much, and I love being home so much, that I idolize it in a way, even above my Savior Jesus Christ. I forget that GOD is home. JESUS CHRIST is my home. Unfortunately, Sharpe and the Zeros have yet to find that out, but there's still hope. The song is a beautiful one though and a favorite of mine, but I do hope that someday they do find Jesus (sorry for the Jesus jukeness of this all, but ya know... some things just relate).

Sometimes I ignore the part I disagree with and sing the song to Jesus.
Jesus, Home is wherever I'm with YOU (everywhere). <3

Sunny days, white gloves & tryptophan

So, it finally happened. Finals are over. The rain cloud above my head seemed to finally go away and the sun decided it was its turn to keep me company. Who knew the sky was blue behind those grey distractions?

What's left? Well.. now to clean the entire room. By tomorrow. It's ok though. Maybe I'll find all of the things I lost this year (once I have the capability of sharing these stories, you better believe I will, but until then, you all shall be left in suspense). Maybe I'll find golden treasures beneath the surface of my mound of stuff. It's amazing how much stuff I have that I don't need. I mean really.. who needs that pink striped ribbon that's in my desk or the knitting kit that's been in the box since last Christmas (sorry Grace.. I'm really going to use it this winter, I promise).

So anyway, once the room is clean, then awaits the RA banquet. Not really sure what to expect for that, but I suppose it will be like most college events- forced fun. Hip hip HIZZAH. Wow, I'm a bad sport, but I feel as though my readiness to be home overcomes any sense of friend-making abilities I currently possess. I don't know about everyone else, but the adventurous side of me got sleepy ever since I consumed unhealthy amounts of tryptophan (I'm thankful for... TURKEY)! That's right. About three weeks of comatose adventurousness. And I'm not even sad. It's just been one of those semesters.

But yeah... then Friday will be an entire day of seclusion ... JUST WHAT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED. In case you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm. Obviously being in isolation for 24 hours is the most cruel punishment for an extrovert.
However, amongst finals, I have definitely not given God the time He deserves in my life, so maybe this day of solidarity silence will be a great time to have some time with Jesus!
YAY JESUS TIME!

Wow this is the most A.D.D. post. I guess all of my posts are pretty A.D.D. though... I don't even know if people read them. Whoever reads these posts must be pretty patient....
I would accuse finals of being the culprit of my current insanity, but we all know that writers are really just this weird. Actually, I can't even attribute my weirdness to being a writer. I'm just a weird person.

So now that we've all come to the conclusion that I'm weird, I'm going to end this post. Hopefully my next post will be less random and more filled with substance.

Dead to Sin

Sometimes we need an extreme kick in the pants to see how holy God is and how sinful we really are. I have been finding how it easy it is to get used to sin. It's almost like it becomes a part of me.. its comfortable. When I reach that point, my sins eat me alive.

I'm not talking about "large" sins-- the blatant "disgusting" sins that everyone sees, knows about and detests. I'm talking about heart sins. "Little" sins. The sins that only the people that really know you know about. The sins that maybe no one knows about. The sins that people think aren't a big deal. The sins I think aren't a big deal. The sins that are "a part of us."

Our society doesn't like that word-- sin. They think it's offensive, pushy and "religious." Well, maybe to the world the word "sin" is those things, but it doesn't mean it's any less disgusting, any less God-opposing or any less real. As Christians, we (or maybe it's just me) seem to unknowingly buy into this opinion of the word, or just of the concept in general. Maybe we don't go right along with the world, but we don't really detest sin as we should.

The world: "I'm a good person for the most part, so that's what matters." 

Some Christians: "Jesus saved me, so I'm a good person."

The world: "I'm not really bad, so it's ok if I do a bad thing once in a while." 

Some Christians: "Jesus saved me so it's ok if I do sin because I'm going to heaven anyway."

I'm not saying this is always the mentality; these are just generally common thought processes I've noticed (and had).

I've been reading through Romans, and I just have to say that the book is absolutely AMAZING. Romans 5 (which I last blogged on ;] haha) is saturated with truths of God's LOVE for mankind. True love. Sacrifice. While we were SINNERS, Christ DIED for us (Romans 5:8). We do not save ourselves. There is nothing we can do to be "good enough" to reach God. We will not be flawless and lose all sin nature when we come to Christ. However, sin is what Jesus Christ saved us FROM.

Romans 6:1-14

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin. ⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. ¹³ And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."

When we allow sin to become comfortable in us, we are remaining dead to sin. We are saying to God, "Thanks for saving me, but no thanks." 
 
Jesus saving me doesn't make me a good person, it makes me a NEW person. Newness involves change. Not because of who we are, but because of what Jesus has DONE.
Sin is comfortable because it's our nature. As believers in Jesus Christ, God gives us the strength through the Holy Spirit to live ALIVE.

And the point of it all? To point people to Jesus Christ. In my muck and filth, Christ's holiness is imparted onto me so that I may show people HIS LOVE.
He is HOLY.

He must increase, and I must decrease.